Parents: Do you think the court went too far this time?

Question

Please read the following link. It is an article about a recent ruling in Quebec, Canada where a 12 year old girl went to court threatening to sue her father for grounding her - the court ruled in her favour.

What do you think should be the limit when disciplining a child? What ever happened to a good old fashioned grounding or a spanking (NOT a beating)?

If the courts keep taking away parents' options for discipline, who can and should be blamed for a child's behaviour? Surely, not the parents, who are quickly losing control of their choices in discipline.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/19/father-court.html#socialcomments

Answer 1

It may have been a once-in-a-life-time trip, but if my 12 year old daughter posted photos on a dating site, she'd be grounded until she was 18, which would probably mean missing many once-in-a-life-time events.  (Ok, maybe not 18, but my point is that I don't think the punishment was overboard.)

Answer 2

How does a 12-year-old girl file a lawsuit?

Answer 3

I'm appalled by this quote quite frankly: "Under Quebec family law, it is not uncommon for a child in a high-conflict situation between two parents to have an attorney appointed to protect his or her best interests."  Because not being allowed to go to a party is real high conflict, amirite?

How nice that taxpayer money went to a 12 year old having a hissy fit about not being allowed to go on a school trip.  What a waste of court time.

This whole case is a waste of time quite frankly.  If discipline becomes abuse, THEN it is a matter for the courts.  But parents need to be able to discipline their own children without having to worry about getting sued.

Good grief!

Answer 4

canada is one of those weird feminised pc mad countries like australia and the states.

just ignore canadians and invest in their oil reserves, thats the best policy

Answer 5

If that was my daughter I'd chuck her out on the streets. Old enough to take me to court, old enough to fend for herself.

Just another reason to not have kids :-)

Answer 6

Lookie at that, when wifes sued their own husbands up and down left and right night and day everything was okie dorkey but the prospect of being sued by their own children doesnt look too good to the feminasties it seems.

The LAW is about money, lawyers and pretty much everybody in the legal system will be just fine with whatever law makes it necessary for you to spend money on a lawyer and keep judges in buisness.

Answer 7

Yes, the court should have stayed out of this one.

Answer 8

Should never have been permitted to go to court in the first place and if she was my daughter she would find herself in a foster home and disowned.

Answer 9

I'm appalled any court would hear this case..

She shouldn't be able to go on ANY trips after pulling a stunt like this!

Answer 10

This is the reason things like this happen:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Its disgusting that the court should interfer in a Parents disciplining of his child

Edit-

"Mommy i want to get pregnent!"

"No, if I hear you say that again your grounded"

"I don't care what you say, im going to the party"

"Thats it, your grounded"

"I'll see you in court..."

Edit- Misanthrope

I know, but it is cases like this that give teens the illusion that they have more rights then they do, are more responsible then they are and should be allowed to determine how to live thier lives the way they want to without fear of consequences

Answer 11

Unbelievable, now she doesn't ever have to do anything her father says, because she knows the courts will get her out of it.

Answer 12

I feel bad for the dad. I feel sorry for the girl to because she will grow up thinking she can get out of any trouble she will get herself into. And when that happens and noone will be there to pick her spoiled behind up she will realize the courts are not doing her any favors by letting her get away with whatever she wants.

Answer 13

Answering the first comment:

She just has to have a "Best-Of-Friend" to sue for her. In most cases, it would be a parent, but in this case it may have been a friend or friend's parent.

Answer 14

I see nothing wrong with a ground or a spanking.  

Stuff like this and the "pregnancy pact' ............just d**n what does it take to raise a normal kid these days?  is it really that hard?  

Suddenly the list of Do Nots do my kid gets longer.

Answer 15

To be fair... It was in Quebec; they have their own bizarre legal system seperate from the rest of Canada.

Edit: 3xploit: She filed the case on her own, and had a court appointed attorney. It's legal in Quebec to do so.

Answer 16

If there was a written opinion, I wish I could read it. That's ridiculous.

I was slapped a few times as a kid, but never beaten. I really wasn't punished all that often, just threatened with punishment.

Grounding is nothing. I can't believe a judge even entertained this.

Answer 17

You know, it took 12 years of parenting (or lack thereof)  to make that girl what she is today.

Why the court is even involved is beyond me.  What trivial waste of public resources.

Answer 18

I agree with the judge for now however; I can not find out what the girl did to get punished in the first place.  "and after she had an alleged row with her stepmother" what does that mean?  I agree with the judge because I think it is horrible when parents ground kids from a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kids should grow up to regret their own mistakes not regret what they missed because of their parents.  I am a firm believer in not grounding a child from once in a lifetime opportunities but working with them to allow them to go to the event and post-pone punishment upon their return.

Its interesting to see that people are blaming the courts for their out of control children.  Note that this is the first time a court has intervined in something like this and most of your kids have been wild for years.

I don't understand these people posting stuff its like they didn't read the entire article.  The court is not going to interject everytime the girl is grounded and she was not grounded for posting the pictures.  For posting the pictures she was not allowed to go on-line for "an alleged row with her stepmother" she was grounded I still have no idea what that means.  I was a teen and I know at one point in time all of you were.  I respected my punishment if it fit the crime but if it was excessive I lost respect for my parents and didn't see them as fair but acting as juvenile's.  Punish your child too hard and your not going to have one.  They will runaway from you or as adults never speak to you again.  Not saying that kids should get away with stuff but if your not laying on the rules and punishments ahead of time and are using them to earn respect your wrong.

Answer 19

I know. I can't believe the court even listened to this. They have no business telling people how to raise their kids. Children need to respect their parents and not act as though they're "mini" adults.